It is common for adolescents to engage in a range of gambling activities. Some adolescents may also develop problem gambling. It has been proposed that adolescents’ behaviours are influenced by people in their social spheres. If people they know gamble, they are also more likely to gamble themselves. The researchers examined exposure to other people’s gambling and adolescents’ own gambling behaviours among Australian adolescents. Data were from the 2017 Australian Secondary Students’ Alcohol and Drug Survey. The researchers found that having a parent/caregiver, brother/sister, best friend, another relative, or someone else the adolescents knew who had gambled in the past month made it more likely the adolescents had gambled in the past month. It also made it more likely that they had engaged in hard gambling activities and be classified as at-risk or problem gambling.
